Michael Penniman

Biography

Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr. (born 18 August 1983), known professionally as Mika ( MEE-kə, stylised in all caps), is a Lebanese-British singer-songwriter based in Paris and London. Mika rose to prominence after the release of his first extended play, Dodgy Holiday (2006), which contained his debut single "Relax, Take It Easy". The track was released in October 2006, and topped the charts throughout Europe. His first full-length studio album, Life in Cartoon Motion (2007), released on Island Records, was led by the single "Grace Kelly" which topped the UK Singles Chart for five weeks starting in January 2007. The album reached number one on the UK Albums Chart, and sold more than 8 million copies worldwide. Life in Cartoon Motion helped Mika win a Brit Award in 2008 for Best British Breakthrough act, while its single "Love Today" was nominated for a Grammy Award.

Mika's second studio album, The Boy Who Knew Too Much (2009), reached number four on the UK Albums Chart, and spawned the UK top-five single "We Are Golden". His third studio album, The Origin of Love (2012), reached number one on the French albums chart and produced the French number-one single "Elle me dit". He subsequently released the albums No Place in Heaven (2015), My Name Is Michael Holbrook (2019), and the French-language album Que ta tête fleurisse toujours (2023), all of which achieved commercial success in Europe. Additionally, he served as judge and mentor on both the French and Spanish versions of The Voice, and the Italian version of X Factor. After a brief music hiatus, Mika released his seventh studio album, Hyperlove (2026), which became his highest charting album in the United Kingdom since The Boy Who Knew Too Much.

In addition to his music career, Mika starred for two seasons in his own television variety show in Italy, Stasera Casa Mika, which won the 2017 Rose d'Or Award for Entertainment, and has hosted his own BBC Radio 2 show, The Art of Song. In 2022, he co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest alongside Italian singer Laura Pausini and Italian television presenter Alessandro Cattelan. Mika has worked as a visual artist and designer on various projects, among them designing sunglasses for the Italian eyewear company Lozza, a clothing line for Belgian retailer JBC, pens for the 100th anniversary of Pilot, and collaborated with his sister Yasmine on three watches for Swiss company Swatch.

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